2012 Cannondale SuperSix EVO- Mount Washington Hill Climb Bike & First Ride Impressions

The 2012 SuperSix EVO with SRAM Red.

Smooth as Silk, and Lightning Fast! These are just a few very technical words to describe the 2012 Cannondale SuperSix EVO 2. I've been riding Cannondale road bikes for over 10 years now and they have evolved a lot since my 2000 era CAAD 4 Aluminum R1000. More recently, I've been riding a couple of different Cannondale's. I have a 2004 Aluminum R3000 with Optimo tubing, that I just love to ride, it's responsive with excellent power transfer and not too stiff to provide a harsh ride. I also ride a the 2007 SystemSix which was my first road bike with a blend of carbon and aluminum. The SystemSix has been by the far the lightest and stiffest, but also the fastest road bike I've ridden, until now! 

As pictured above, the SuperSix EVO has been changed from the stock build to accommodate my upcoming up-hill race on Mount Washington. I've added a SRAM X9 mountain bike rear derailleur, a SRAM 11-36 tooth cassette, and SRAM chain and paired up with a Cannondale Carbon Compact Crank. This is going to be the ideal gearing choice for the average 12% grade up the hill, 7.6 miles to the summit. Other subtle changes I made were in regards to my fit, so I widened the handlebar to 44cm and installed a longer, 110 mm stem.

 Gears for Hill Climbers.

Having spent a few hours yesterday morning dialing in the bike for the first ride, before I knew it, I was out on the roads of Southern Maine heading for some nice little hills around Mount Hope in the Sanford area. The roads leading up to the climbs are generally light rolling, but mostly flat. I am instantly amazed at how comfortable the ride is, bumps and cracks in the road surface pass under me unnoticed and I'm speeding right along with maximum efficiency, all pedal effort just progressing me forward. Standing up to sprint, I jet ahead in amazingly fast form (as fast as I can push this bike).

That's some low gearing!

Arriving at the base of the first climb on Fox Farm Hill road, I am able to maintain 7.5/8.5 MPH, 80-90 cadence and my heart rate around 170-180, well shy of my max HR. I find myself using the 34 chain ring with 28 or 32t cog and climbing with ease. As I stand on the pedals to climb, the bike just shoots uphill defying all gravity. Since that first lap was so much fun I descend and go back to hit it again! On the second descent, I push it hard to hit a fast speed, there's some nice corners and bends in the road and the bike just floats through with pin point precision where ever I want it to go. I'm able to experience even more bliss as I start to climb Mount Hope, it's amazing how this bike rides, accelerates, and how comfortable it is.

Our Super Star Cat, Harry, in full approval of the SuperSix EVO.

Here is my ride up and around Mount Hope from the park and ride in South Berwick, ME.


I'll be blogging a bit on my training on this bike in the next couple of weeks ahead of the race and definitely a blog on the race itself. Stay tuned and thanks for reading.

Steve

2012 Specialized Dealer Product Launch- Mountain Bike Demo day.

After a morning where I needed more coffee than I would normally, I was ready for a few more product presentations. Actually, I wanted to hang around at breakfast a little more and watch the finish to that day's Tour de France coverage they were showing in the dining hall of the Monterey Convention Center. Instead, I filled a to go cup full of caffeine goodness and went up to the ATB/Kids presentation. After that, we were off to the Performance Mountain product overview. Surviving both of those and anxious to go ride bikes, I was in my room changing for the Mountain demo ride. All of the East coast dealers hopped on the shuttle bus headed to Toro Park in Salinas, about a 25 minute ride east from Monterey. Bike riding is fun!

 The 2012 S-Works EPIC 29'er.

One of my goals with the MTB demo was to compare the EPIC 29 to the Stumpjumper 29. Selfishly, so I can narrow down my choice for my next mountain bike investment, but also to be able to give a good idea on the different handling characteristics of both bikes to folks looking at purchasing either of these two bikes. 

The EPIC's handling is exceptional, it climbs very efficiently and also descends quite well. This bike made from Super-light FACT IS 11m full carbon with dedicated 29er geometry, PF30 bottom brackett (PF= press fit), of course, all the suspension pivots have sealed cartridge bearings. The rear frame dropouts are 142mm wide which make the bike handle great and keeps frame flex at the axle non-existent. The rear shock is a FOX shock made specifically and exclusively for Specialized and designed for this bike. It has the new Kashima coating on the shaft which helps reduce friction and provide longevity and durability. New for 2012 a special tune on the shock that delivers a seamless transition from efficient pedaling on smooth terrain to fully active on rough terrain. Providing the front suspension is the RockShox SID 29 fork with Specialized Brain inertia-valve damping and has 100mm of air-sprung travel. Specialized rolls this bike on the Roval Control SL 29 wheelset with carbon rims. They're wicked light, stiff, & durable. They climb and handle fantastic. For drive components it is spec'd with SRAM XX 10 Speed 2x10 gearing. It was plenty of low gearing for any of the climbing we were about to encounter.  

 Cows and Mountain Bikers always mix!

 

I rallied with a couple of other dealers I had become friends with while at this event so we could all ride together. Myself and another guy, Stu, out of the four of us, wanted to do the harder loop that Specialized had mapped out for us and so Tom and Scott just agreed to follow us. Little did they (or I) know how much climbing we would end up doing. Along the way, about half way up, we met up with these cows just grazing on grass, some in the middle of the trail. We don't see anything like this back east, but we just waited for them to move out of the way and off we went.

Monterey Bay can be seen of in the distance.

I'm a climbing junkie, some times I just can't get enough. So, while I was suffering from the self inflicted pain I was putting upon myself, I was giddy inside looking up at the remainder of the climb. Though not technically difficult terrain, it was quite steep and pretty warm out, so I was feeling it.

 We rode the grassy skyline ridge to the summit.

 Representing Papa in the West

Arriving at the summit, I found this high altitude cow just grazing.

1800 ft above sea level, prefect grains to eat here.

We figured out at the top of this really long climb that we had gone well beyond the route that was mapped out for the demo ride, but thankfully one of us had the map, which had the trails we needed to ride down. For a little bit, it was a "finger in the wind" approach to find our way back, but this just added to the riding adventure and gave us some sweet single track and a nice long descent to the Demo venue.

My second demo ride and first love, the 2012 S-Works Stumpjumper 29.

We eventually made it back with enough time to take another ride and I immediately took out the S-Works Stumpjumper 29'er. Within the first few feet of my ride, I just knew, the Stumpy is the bike for me! Everything about it, the seating position, geometry, superior handling, increased travel and more...This bike rips! I took the shorter of the two loops and had a blast! Great single track, desert/western style with a few good launcher jumps and some fun berm corners. This bike is just incredible and with the Specialized Purgatory and Ground Control tires mounted up on the Roval Control Trail 29 wheel set the hook up was mind-blowing! The 130mm travel Fox F130 shock was super plush and responsive mated with the all new proprietary to Specialized Remote Brain Auto Sag rear shock it allows for maximum pedaling efficiency and bump compliance.

This is my GPS track of the EPIC & Stumpy demo rides at Toro Park in Salinas, CA, courtesy of Strava (check them out).

Thanks for reading, I had a blast representing Papa Wheelies and Back Bay Bicycles at the event. I got to speak with Mike Synard after dinner on the last night and thanked him for having us and complimented him on a great team he has working under him, including us here at Papa's and Back Bay, as he said on the first day, "We are Specialized".  


Steve

Christmas in July Overhaul Special! Save $50 bucks!

Our summer gift to you! Save $50 dollars on a complete overhaul and get a complimentary set of both brake and shift cables & housing ($35 dollar value) for the whole month of July.

  

If you've been training & riding all season or just getting ready to ride now into the fall, you might be due for a complete overhaul. Bring your bike in to Papa Wheelies for a complete overhaul. This service normally costs you $200, but for the month of July it's $150 including all new cables and housing. Call (603) 427.2060 or stop by the shop to schedule an appointment.

Two Timer on a Twenty Niner

2011 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Comp 29 Test Bike.

Only recently have I exposed myself to the beauty of the 29'er bicycle. This post title says Two Timer because I'm feeling like I've been cheating on my regular old 26 inch wheeled bikes on the last Two Rides and because I have now done Two Rides on our 29'er test bike. Everything I'd heard and read about before actually trying the Big Wheels was all summed up quite nicely once aboard. Just Riding Along (JRA) in the parking lot of the shop on a few different bikes, was an instant attention grabber. They all felt incredibly stable and rolled nicely along.


Here at Papa Wheelies, we have two 29'er Test Bikes from Specialized, an EPIC Comp 29 in a large frame, and a Stumpjumper FSR Comp 29, medium frame size. I personally have a 2007 Stumpy FSR (26 inch wheel/ 5 inch travel bike) so I have been gravitating toward the Stumpy Test Bike, because it's in my size, but also because I like a little more travel than the EPIC has. I took sometime last week on a day off to ride some of my favorite trails at Mount Agamenticus, these are trails I know quite well and that I have been riding for a long time. I thought that would be the best way for me to compare the 29'er bike. Instantly, I was hooked as I climbed up Ring trail with ease, rolling over rocks and roots quickly and smoothly. What I noticed as I climbed up the switchback Horse trail was how less twitchy it was compared to my regular MTB. It seemed as if I could roll around the switchbacks more smoothly, where if I was riding my 26" bike, I might have had to do a bit more negotiating with my front wheel at every turn, using more energy in the process. The wheels and bike went directly to the position I pointed it, when and where I needed it, all my effort in pedaling making the bike propel forward.

 
As I summited the Big A, I looked forward to the descent toward Second Hill. I love to climb, but who doesn't love to go down hill too? As I started down Chestnut Oak I was absolutely amazed at the handling of the bike through big rocks & roots, into corners, flying with a smooth flow down the trail. Again as compared to my 26'er, I would have had to pre-jump and compress the suspension through a couple of sections to make it through smoothly at my acceptable rate of speed. Railing into some of the tighter corners, I could counter my body weight into the rear suspension, much like my 26, but even faster!  There's a rock drop/ roll off as you start the traverse over toward Second Hill that I've never felt totally positive about rolling over on my 26 inch Stumpy, I've always felt like I had to get way back off the saddle or even in some cases, I've walked down through it if the conditions were super slick or if it was really dark on some of my night rides. The 29'er just made me feel super confident going in that it was no big deal rolling down the rock and I did it with great skill, thinking to myself how much fun it was on this bike. 

Every question I asked in my head about the bike, I was given the answer in the handling and responsiveness of the bike. For example, as many riders who frequent Mount Aggie know, often times you'll be riding at a fairly quick clip and come into left a corner, through a stream and there's a rutted root section as you exit the water and corner. See pic below.

You can see at the far end of the stream the roots. On my 26 Stumpy, I would hit the first root and have to pull up hard on the front end to get my wheels to clear the roots better. With the 29 Stumpy, I was able to pop my front tire on top of the first root, along with my momentum I only had to apply a quick and easy pedal stroke and the wheel just rolled over the second root with minimal effort and less energy used. The rest of this first ride was pretty tame and I ended, feeling less "worked". 

My second ride on this bike was just the other night after a mostly rainy day. I was unsure how the bike would handle through slick rocks and roots and with other riders to influence the speed of the ride. As I reached the top of the first real technical climb on the Lime trail, I just knew the 29'er was/is for me. The whole ride I nailed the real technical climbs and rock/root sections. At the rides end, I felt great, not nearly as tired as I would have felt if I had been on my 26. Now one of the regular old 26 inch wheel bikes I own sits quietly up for sale to fund my next big bike purchase, some 29'er, bike model yet to be determined.

Thanks for reading,

Steve

Cannondale Mountain Bike Sale is on now!

Looking for a new Cannondale Mountain Bike? We're currently running a -20% off sale on the Trail SL2, Trail SL3, & the Trail SL4. Mention this blog post for a complimentary Papa Wheelies / Back Bay Bicycles water bottle. In addition, with any new bike sale, you save 20% on all accessories and every new bike comes with our legendary "Lifetime of free service".

*Sale is on while supplies last.

Upcoming Mavic Wheel Demo

Please join us at Papa Wheelies for a Mavic Wheel Demo Day. Mavic will be on hand Saturday June 25 with their entire line of road wheels available to demo. We will combine the Demo with our normal Saturday morning group ride where you will be able to take a pair of wheels for a nice long test spin. The Mavic Team will also be available for an open demo from 10AM- 2PM that same day. For those testing wheels at the 7:30 AM shop ride, Mavic will be available at Papa Wheelies from 4-6pm on Friday 6/24 to exchange wheels. Otherwise, riders are encouraged to arrive at Papa Wheelies 45-60 minutes before the group ride departs. *All demo wheels are first come-first served. However, an effort can be made to reserve wheels for specific times by contacting MAVIC directly prior to the event.

A new pair of road wheels can be a great upgrade investment and can enhance your ride significantly by saving weight, while decreasing rolling resistance, and adding strength and rigidity. Which all translates to increased performance & speed, and lastly adds confidence to your bike riding adventures. Anybody who participates in the demo event and purchases any pair of Mavic wheels from Papa Wheelies within Two Weeks of the event is entitled to a complimentary pair of Mavic tires.

2011 Specialized Roubaix Expert SL3

Ninety nine percent of us don't need the absolute fastest, stiffest race bike. We don't put out over 1000 watts of power in an all-out sprint like Mark Cavendish, we're not going to pull ahead of a world-class group of climbers headed up Alpe d' Huez like Alberto Contador. We're going to go out for a few 1-2 hour rides a week and throw in an occasional century ride or 60-miler, and we're going to ride New England roads with pavement that is cracked and rutted with frost-heave lumps.

The Specialized Roubaix was built for exactly this kind of riding. Well, actually, it was built to win races like Paris-Roubaix, where the race course includes dusty, muddy, rough cobblestones covered with a patina of tractor gear oil with myriad unexpected obstacles placed between the start and finish lines. Luckily, that just so happens to describe a lot of the roadways here in northern New England too!

The Roubaix SL3 is a fantastic frame whose technology was only available on the $7000+ S-Works version of the Roubaix as recently as last year. Carbon is a fantastic material to build a bike frame out of, since it is almost infinitely tunable in terms of compliance - shaping of the tubes, layup of the carbon fabric make it possible to keep significantly stiff lateral and torsional rigidity while adding a substantial amount of vertical compliance, resulting in microsuspension that both smooths out the potholes and dampens the smaller inconsistencies of the roadway.

The thing that makes the SL3 version of the Roubaix so much better than previous versions is the way it is laid up in better sections. SL2 and earlier versions had a separate bottom bracket piece that chainstays and downtube plugged onto, which resulted in extra structural carbon overlapped and bonded together. The SL3 chainstays, bottom bracket, and seattube make up one piece that makes the bike about .25 lbs lighter, and BB30 carbon bottom bracket shell also contribute to a stiffer, lighter weight system. Size specific stays for EVERY frame size mean that there is specific thought going into every size bike, not just the 56cm one like a number of competitors.

THE RIDE
The geometry of the Tarmac is relaxed. This gives it a longer wheelbase than a race bike, which makes it more stable and predictable at speed. It is still a light (16 lbs.), stiff, responsive bike, just more like a sport sedan than an F1 race car. The ride is plush and forgiving, but there is a sort of positive springy feel to the ride that seems to drive you forward with every pedal stroke. The headtube is probably at least as tall as any of its competitors, and with the 4-position stem that comes spec'd on every level Roubaix there is a huge range for fitting you comfortably (or aggressively) on the bike.

Full Shimano Ultegra 6700 drivetrain, Fulcrum Racing 4 wheelset, and FACT carbon seatpost w/ Zertz insert all add to the ride. Specialized's own Avatar saddle is plush, anatomically correct, and comes in three widths to fit any rider's sit bones.

We have Roubaix SL3 bikes in our Test Bike fleet. Come in, get fitted, and take one for a long ride over any road, smooth or rough!

First Ride: 2011 Specialized Tarmac Expert SL3

Specialized has concentrated an awful lot on their road bikes over the last few years. They have poured resources galore into sponsoring not one, but two Pro Tour teams: Saxo Bank and Astana, and new for this season: HTC-Columbia. Their Tarmac carried the reigning champion of the Tour de France to victory last year, and their Roubaix has been ridden by the winner of the race it was named for (Paris-Roubaix) for the last three years running.

Specialized seems to always be evolving their road bikes, and none so much as the Tarmac. For 2011, the SL3 frame has trickled down from the S-Works model to the Pro and Expert, making the Expert a fantastically stiff, light bike weighing in around 16 lbs at less than half the price of the 2010 S-Works version!

THE RIDE
The geometry of the Tarmac is very neutral. It is quick and nimble, yet stable and predictable. It holds a solid line in the middle of a pack, yet feels playful and positively springy dancing up a climb. The carbon layup, creating the downtube, bb and chainstays as one unit, dampens the rough New England roads, but doesn’t adversely effect the responsive road feel. The bike is a race fit, with long top tube. The headtube is long enough when paired with the Pro Set 4-position stem to put you in a fairly upright riding position if desired, but not so long that you can’t slam that stem if you want to ride like the boys in the TdF.

Full Shimano Ultegra 6700 drivetrain, Fulcrum Racing 4 wheelset, and FACT carbon seatpost w/ Zertz insert all add to the ride. One last spec note: Specialized has been producing their own line of saddle for over a decade, generally offering all their saddles in 3 widths and testing bloodflow with their saddle to help keep you safe and comfortable. The Specialized Romin may be the best spec’d saddle on any road bike offered by any bike manufacturer in the world! It is lightweight, attractive, and jam-packed with technology and comfort.

We have Tarmac SL3 bikes in our Test Bike fleet. Come in, get fitted, and take one for a long ride on a twisty road!

Papa Wheelies Hill Climb Training Rides

Papa Wheelies Hill Climb Training Ride Series

We will begin our 6 week Hill Climb training ride Series on Mount Agamenticus on Monday, March 21, weather permitting week to week. The ride will leave from the York Park and Ride parking lot, at the York exit of I95 before the toll. Take a left off the exit ramp, the P&R is located on the west side of the highway. We will rollout at 5:30 PM then move to a 6:00 PM rollout as daylight allows. Both head and tail lights will be required the first few weeks. As usual helmets, proper dress, water, food, flat & chain repair equipment is required for all riders. This is for moderate to advanced riders looking to dedicate a night per week improving and building their climbing skills and strength.

The general idea and overall ride goals will be as listed:

Week 1, March 21: Warm up ride to the base of Mt. A, 1-3 hill repeats, return to the cars.
Mileage 16-18, Ride Time 1.5/2 hrs.

Week 2, March 28: Warm up ride to the base of Mt. A, 2-5 hill repeats, return to the cars.
Mileage 18-22, Ride TIme 1.5/2 hrs.

Week 3, April 4: Warm up ride to the base of Mt. A, 4-6 hill repeats, return to the cars.
Mileage 20-24, Ride Time 2 hrs.

Week 4, April 11: Warm up ride to the base of Mt. A, 5-7 hill repeats, return to the cars.
Mileage 21-24, Ride time 2 hrs.

Week 5, April 18: Warm up ride to the base of Mt. A, 6-8 hill repeats, return to the cars.
Mileage 23-26, Ride time 2 hrs.

Week 6, April 25: Warm up ride to the base of Mt. A, 8-10 hill repeats, return to the cars.
Mileage 25-27, Ride time 2/2.5 hrs.

For more info on all shop rides, check out our Rides & Events section on our website.

First Ride: 2011 Cannondale CAAD10 3

A quick ten miles on this early spring morning before the rain and snow swept back through New England was all I needed to get a good feel for the new CAAD10 from Cannondale.

Cannondale could have taken the easy route with the tenth generation of their flagship aluminum race frame, shipped the CAAD9 blueprints off to Asia, trimmed a little weight and called it a day, devoting their engineers to working on another carbon bike.

Instead, they devoted resources in time and money to creating a revolutionary aluminum bike, borrowing technology from their Flash mountain bike and Synapse road bike frame designs, coming up with a new 1 1/8 - 1 1/4" headtube standard, and dropping nearly half a pound off the CAAD9 frameset!

THE RIDE
Snappy, peppy, ready to sprint! The CAAD10 retains Cannondale's 25+ year race pedigree. It is as light as most competitor's standard carbon bikes, has similar vertical compliance (this means that the spring potholes don't rattle your fillings like they usually do on an aluminum bike). Gone are the wishbone seatstays of the last few generations of CAAD frames, replaced with SAVE stays that are super rigid laterally, but give you micro-suspension vertically.

The CAAD10 3 has some pretty big shoes to fill. For the past decade its predecessors: the R2000, then R1000, then CAAD8 Optimo, then CAAD9 3 have been the best-selling workhorse race bike in our store - perfect for hill climbs, crit races, anywhere that speed, lightweight and precision handling are called for.

Look around at the next criterium you go to in New England - you'll see more CAADs than any other bike! It is fast, light, stiff, and won't cost you a mortgage payment when some wingnut takes you out in a tight corner.

Shimano Ultegra 6700 drivetrain, FSA SL-K Light carbon BB30 crankset and Mavic Aksium wheelset rounds out a solid package and keeps the weight of the bike to just over 17 lbs!

Our First Shop Road Ride of the Season

Spring is here! Well nearly, at least we're over the Day Light Savings hurdle!  We had three riders on our first ride tonight.  We rode from the shop out through Pease, into Newington, looped around Fox Point Rd, Little Bay Rd and Old Post Rd, back into Pease then returned to the shop.  It was a total casual pace for the most part, but we worked on a quick pace line session which helped with the moderate head wind on the long stretch through Pease on New Hampshire Ave.  We'll be going out again on next Monday, March 21.  Join us soon.  Here is our loop from last night.

3rd annual Portsmouth Bike Swap is coming up on April 17th

3rd Annual
Seacoast Bike Swap
at Papa Wheelies
Sunday, April 17, 2011The Swap is On!
Free Admission!

Sell your old bike! Clean out your garage/basement/attic. You choose the selling price. When your bike sells, you get 100% in Papa Wheelies store credit or 80% as a check.

Bring in your good condition used bikes and accessories between Saturday, March, 26 & Saturday, April, 16 and we will help you determine a fair selling price and store the gear on-site until the Bike Swap. Papa Wheelies reserves the right to refuse any or all items.

Buy the perfect used bike. Use it to ride around town, feel the wind on your face, run errands, feel like a kid again!

Join us under the big tent in the Papa Wheelies parking lot at 653 Islington Street in Portsmouth on

Sunday for some excellent deals. No sales prior to 11am Sunday, April 17, 2011.

Hundreds of used bikes for sale! Knowledgeable staff to help you find the perfect match for you!

Please call Nat or Josh at Papa Wheelies at 603.427.2060 with any questions.

A portion of the proceeds from the Portsmouth Bike Swap will benefit Seacoast Area Bicycle Routes (SABR), a local non-profit advocating for cyclists on the roads of New Hampshire and Southern Maine.

Winter Clothing Sale

All Winter riding clothes and gear on sale now! Save 30% on all winter clothes!

We also have Cycleops Mag Trainers on sale, save $60! 
Stop into the shop and check out our selection of trainers and winter clothes.
 Warm gear you can use now!

Cycleops Mag Trainers

Cannondale Booties